Swansea City chase Papiss Cisse as Wilfried Bony replacement
Swansea City (11/1 with Coral for a top six finish) are set to turn to Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse as an immediate replacement for Wilfried Bony, who is expected to soon complete his switch to Manchester City.
The Swans’ superb striker is on the verge of signing for the current Premier League champions in a deal reportedly costing Manuel Pellegrini’s side £28m. Bony comes at costly transfer sum having become the Premier League’s top scorer last calendar year with 20 strikes, ahead of Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge.
Swansea boss Garry Monk is keen to make a swift move for Bony’s fellow African star Cisse, as both forwards prepare for the African Cup of Nations later this month.
Clinical Cisse has a year-and-a-half remaining on his current Magpies deal and reportedly attracted other interest from Turkey, with Fenerbahce and Galatasaray expressing a desire to lure the centre forward to the Super Lig.
The sought-after Senegalese striker recently refused to deny any talk of a Swansea switch, instead stating a desire to focus on his country’s upcoming African Cup of Nations campaign.
“I have one and a half years left on my contract. Today I focus on the African Cup of Nations,” said Cisse. “Then we will see how things will evolve and my future with Newcastle. We talk about a lot of clubs, Swansea and others.”
Geordie favourite Cisse has been in a good run of form for Newcastle in this season’s Premier League, netting nine times in 13 outings before his departure to Equatorial Guinea. This follows up an extremely poor previous term, when the forward could only manage four strikes all season in 27 appearances.
However, the African attacker has caught the eye of Swans coach Monk, who will hope to secure a deal for Senegal’s star striker swiftly, after Bony completes his imminent move to the blue half of Manchester. Monk’s men are odds-on 8/13 to finish in the top 10 this campaign.
